Chapter Ten

music: "You've Got A Friend" James Taylor
(Time Line for chapter: Between Episodes 7.03 & 7.04)

By mid-morning, Lucas was finished with the paperwork for the last operation and ready for his third cup of tea.

This was the part of the job that he loathed but knew it was vital. He did appreciate it that since he had been gone, most of the reporting had been converted to digital filing. He closed out of the program before getting up to refill his cup.

He noticed Connie hovering nearby out of the corner of his eye. It was getting to be a regular occurrence to catch her watching or listening in on not just him but everyone on the grid. Lucas couldn't quite put his finger on it but something about her didn't sit right with him. He'd have to be vigilant where she was concerned.

Passing by Ben's desk as he went to refill his tea, Lucas placed a hand on his shoulder. He said, "Keep to the facts, Ben. Don't let emotion play in to your reporting. It will go much faster."

Ben looked up at him appreciatively. He replied, "Thanks for the tip Lucas. By the time I finish this I'll need that beer debriefing you offered. Any chance you'd be available after work?

"Absolutely," Lucas said smiling. He gave Ben's shoulder a final pat before moving on. He popped his head in to see if Malcolm wanted anything while he was up. Malcolm thanked him but said he had refilled his cup a few minutes ago.

Lucas returned to his desk with a fresh cup of tea. Taking a look at the stack of paperwork, he sighed heavily and grabbed the next file. This one brought a small smile to his lips. It was the Renovations Project File. He opened it to review its contents again. Coming across the access e-mail, he followed the directions to pull up the project website.

Lucas found it easy to navigate. He went to the correspondence section. He found it hard to reconcile the hard hitting no nonsense business memos with the whimsical, quick witted, caring person that resided across the hall from him. It was time to pull a background check on her.

As he waited for the report to pull up, he reflected on just a few short hours ago when he had asked her to stay with him, she simply turned back to him without saying a word, keeping a hold of his hand and taken a seat on the arm of the sofa beside him. Lucas had slid down the couch pulling her down gently beside him using his free hand to rearrange the quilt so it covered both of them. He really admired the quiet way she had of being there for him.

Lori had been concerned she had disturbed his sleep. He assured her that he hadn't been asleep but was just resting his eyes. She'd asked him if he wanted to stretch out and continuing resting his eyes. He thanked her for the offer but regretfully declined saying he'd soon have to be on his way to go to work.

Always the gracious hostess, Lori had insisted on making Lucas breakfast before he had to leave. He leaned against the door jamb to the kitchen keeping her company. She had made an excellent cup of tea for him to sip while she cooked.

It made him smile when she had asked why he had chosen "The Sting" to watch. He had reached into his jeans back pocket pulling out a post-it note to hand to her. Her laugh filled the room after she read it. It said in bold handwriting "Lori's All Time Favourite". She then had teased him about how she thought for sure up until then he must have had psychic abilities to pick that particular movie.

The fluffy French toast and sausages had been drowned in maple syrup. It was delicious and filling. After they finished eating, Lucas looked at his watch, saying he'd have to be on his way. Lori waved off his offer to help with the dishes. She'd given him a hug and kissed both cheeks. He'd hugged her back and returned the kisses before crossing the hall to shower and change clothes. He was out the door and off to the grid twenty minutes later.

As he finished his reminiscing, the computer screen flashed with the message the background check had finished and was ready. Lucas hit the print button and waited by printer. Once again, he noted Connie hovering. He wondered where Harry & Ros had disappeared to. They hadn't been seen since the morning briefing.

When it was done, Lucas took the report putting it in a burn jacket before grabbing his coat. He told Ben he'd be back after lunch and could be reached by mobile. He wanted to read this in private with no prying eyes. He went down to the Archives Room. Taking a seat at a table in the back he opened the jacket and began to read the single page:

Background Security Data for:
Lori Sue Montgomery

Maiden Name: Lemon
DOB: 10/07/1959
Birth Location: Fort Wayne, Indiana, USA

Parents: Bryan Lee Lemon (born 10/10/1934 - died 14/04/1969)
Marjorie Marie (Nealon) Lemon (born 14/12/1935 – died 14/04/1969)
Siblings: Lisa Ruth Lemon (born 23/09/1955 – died 14/04/1969)
Roger Kevin Lemon (born 27/08/1956 – died 14/04/1969)

Married: Miroslav Gojanović 03/10/1978; Divorced: 14/11/1981
Married: Steven McAran Montgomery 26/06/1996 (died 01/05/2001)

Education:
Graduated High School 1973 at age 14 - 4.0 GPA.
Graduated Notre Dame University 1977 at age18 - B.S. Mechanical Engineering.
4.0 GPA, Summa cum laude

Military:
Naval Aviator Training – Summer 1977
Current Military Rank: Commander, Retired (1989) - Record Sealed-Eyes Only

Employer(s):
MP Enterprises (1989 – present)
Project Liaison/Coordinator
New York, New York
Professional Name: Sam (Samantha) Smith

Security Clearances:
Eyes Only List

Visa Status:
Temporary Work Visa for Thames House Renovation – Expires 05/2009
Entered England via the RAF Air Base in a U.S. Naval Aircraft F-18, 22/10/2007 2:15 a.m.

Lucas returned the single sheet of paper to the burn jacket before placing it in the burn bin. He wanted to take a walk to digest what he had read. Walking the short distance to his flat, he let himself in. Since he was there, the rest of the leftover chili and muffins sounded like a good choice for some lunch.

As he ate, Lucas thought how pleased he was to have all the information Lori had already shared with him verified. He was saddened on her behalf to read of the deaths of her immediate family and her second husband. It was a wonder to him she was such a caring person after such personal tragedies let alone still functioning on any level. She was obviously some kind of genius to have graduated at such an early age with excellent grades. The military record being sealed and security clearance "Eyes Only" statuses had him intrigued. And why did she fly here on a military plane?

It was just the right amount of food. He tossed the throwaway container and storage bag in to the trash bin and put his soup spoon and water glass in the sink. He soon was on his way back to the grid to hopefully have an uninterrupted afternoon of finishing the stack of paperwork on his desk.

The renovation file lay open waiting for him on his desk when he returned. He finished flipping through it quickly. He noticed there was one thing he could do for Lori to save her some time and hassle of having to come down to Thames House yet this week. He could secure her access key card. She would need it come Monday. It would give him the prime opportunity to let her know he would be her contact for MI-5 on the project.

Filling out the form required, Lucas hand delivered it down to Security. He obtained their promise to have the card ready for him by the close of business today When he returned upstairs, it somehow didn't surprise him there was an e-mail waiting for him from Sam Smith requesting information on access protocol and informing that the project was still scheduled to be a full go on Monday. They seemed to be thinking a lot alike.

The afternoon went by quietly for a change. Lucas had managed to clear the backlog of paperwork from his desk leaving only the current cases in the stack. He was quite pleased with all that had been accomplished. He made a quick trip down to Security to pick up the access key card and slid it in to his back pocket. Then it was back up to the grid to get Ben so they could go for "Beer Therapy."

As they walked out, Ben asked, "Does the paperwork ever get any easier?"

Lucas answered honestly, "Not really, but I would be happy to give you a few shortcut tips."

Ben grinned, "Yea, I'd appreciate that, anything to make it go faster."

They made their way to the pub around the corner from Thames House. Quite a few of their colleagues were already there. Ben and Lucas slowly made their way towards a quiet table in the back. Taking the time to stop and chat here and there with various people who stopped them.

Four beers a piece and three hours later, Ben had decompressed. He was feeling much better about things in general. He looked at his watch saying, "Oh, I hadn't realized we had talked so long. I need to be going, I'm late. Thanks Mate, for letting me bend your ear."

"Anytime Ben," Lucas said insisting on paying the tab. Ben agreed only if Lucas would promise to let him get it the next time. Lucas nodded his agreement, told Ben to get going before he was in real trouble and settled up with the barkeep.

Stepping out in to the night air, Lucas took a deep breath. He pulled his mobile out of his pocket and scrolled through his address book while starting the walk home. Landing on "Sam Smith" he connected.

Lori answered on the third ring, "Lucas, how are you this evening? Are you ready to shoot me for keeping you up most of the night?"

Lucas smiled as he answered her, "I am well and no, I had a lovely evening. It was well worth a little sleep deprivation."

"Happy to hear it. What can I do for you?" Lori asked.

"I was wondering if you had your supper. If not, I thought we could go for a bite, my treat" Lucas said.

"No, I was just thinking about what I was going to fix tonight. Great minds think alike, don't you know? I'd be delighted to join you!" Lori answered.

"Excellent, say twenty minutes?" Lucas asked.

"Perfect," Lori said.

"See you then," Lucas said before disconnecting and continuing his walk home.